Tuesday, 1 March 2022

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (01 Mar 2022) 9 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 01, 2022
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle000
Northern Harrier222
Sharp-shinned Hawk000
Cooper's Hawk000
Northern Goshawk111
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk222
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk000
Golden Eagle333
American Kestrel000
Merlin111
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon000
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:999


Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official CounterJeff Birek
Observers: Darcy Juday



Visitors:
46 visitors. More than 20 asked about the HawkWatch.

Weather:
Unseasonably warm day with a light east breeze. Cirrus clouds nearby and some stratus far to the north.

Raptor Observations:
Several resident Golden Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks. Adult Northern Goshawk, Northern Harriers (seen over Green Mountain), and adult Golden Eagles are possibly resident birds and caution should be used to not recount these birds. I counted 2 harriers, 3 Golden Eagles (2 adults, one juvenile), and one adult Northern Goshawk as migrating birds based on behavior when observed.

Non-raptor Observations:
eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S103997374

Predictions:
It will be another early season day with low numbers of raptors likely. However there is predicted to be a north wind south of the site and winds are predicted to shift from west to the east later in the day. Very likely to have a decent push (for the early season) in the afternoon as birds that have migrated across the prairie during the day will concentrate along the Dakota Hogback at Dinosaur Ridge. Could have some nice thermal activity mid-day with some thermals causing a high flight. Emma, the official HawkWatcher for the season, will be starting tomorrow and will be on the hill Wednesdays through Sundays throughout the season.


Report submitted by David Hill (davidhill2357@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]




Site Description
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may
be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged
Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see
resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to
migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and
Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern
Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes
Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White
Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders of any skill level are always welcome.
HawkWatch at Dinosaur Ridge is generally staffed by volunteers from about 9 AM
to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th.

Directions to site:
From exit 259 on I-70 towards Morrison, drive south under freeway and take left
into first parking lot, the Stegosaurus lot. Follow small signs from the
southwest end of lot to the hawkwatch site. The hike starts heading east on an
old two-track and quickly turns south onto a trail on the west side of the
ridge. When the trail nears the top of the ridge, turn left, head through the
gate, and walk to the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)

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Re: [cobirds] golden-crowned kinglet

"In the meantime, maybe golden-crowned kinglets deserve being closely watched by us.  "

Dave, If you can help bring one down from hiding in the upper spruce canopy I'll be happy to watch it, and closely.  :-) 

David Suddjian
Ken Caryl Valley

On Tue, Mar 1, 2022 at 8:51 AM DAVID A LEATHERMAN <daleatherman@msn.com> wrote:
I appreciate Brandon's summary of the CBCs and found his noting the scarcity of golden-crowned kinglets worthy of further comment.  I am not sure how many are found on Colorado CBCs in a normal year.   My sense is that most of the counts are low elevation and that a golden-crowned kinglet in winter at low elevation is always special.  But I would expect a lot more than 1 for all our counts combined!  

The reality of fire now being part of the deal in spruce-fir is in stark contrast to the historical record.  Climate change making the upper mountains warmer and drier than normal has them stressed.  Spruce beetles have accepted this invitation in the older stands and are killing huge swaths of spruce in the High Country.  Add in big fires and the combination of these two disturbance agents is becoming significant.  Is the golden-crowned kinglet a "canary" of these shocks to the upper forests?  Maybe, maybe not, but I would suggest birders take particular note of this species, especially in breeding areas.  

The predictions for Engelmann spruce habitat suitability between now and 2060 due to climate change are not good (66% reduction) (Funk and Saunders 2014).  The golden-crowned kinglet account by Paul Slingsby, Richard Roth and Kim Potter in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II publication reports nationwide Breeding Bird Survey data show a decline of 2.3% per year between 1966 and 2012.  Breeding Bird Atlas III would happen in the mid-2030s if we stay on an every-20-years schedule.  That feels like a long ways away.  

In the meantime, maybe golden-crowned kinglets deserve being closely watched by us.  Just a thought.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

Funk, J., and S. Sauders. 2014. Rocky Mountain forests at risk: Confronting climate-driven impacts from insects, wildfires, heat, and drought.  Report from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, Cambridge, MA. Available at http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/09/Rocky-Mountain-Forests-At-Risk-Full-Report.pdf.

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[cobirds] CFO presents Birdability March 7th via Zoom - register now!



Birding is an activity that can bring so much joy and empowerment to everybody, but not everybody is able to go birding easily. Birdability is a brand new non-profit, based in the US but with a global reach. Through education, outreach and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure the birding community and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody. We focus on people with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and those who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing or who have other health concerns. In addition to current birders, we strive to introduce birding to people with disabilities and other health concerns who are not yet birders so they too can experience the joys of birding.

Learn about why this should matter to you (even if you don't have an accessibility challenge), ways to be a more welcoming and inclusive birder, the Birdability Map (and how to submit a Birdability Site Review) and our resources for birders (and potential future birders) with accessibility challenges... because birding is for everybody and every body! Learn more and find resources at birdability.org or follow @birdability on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This talk will have closed captioning available to all users.


Register here for the March 7th, 7 p.m. presentation - https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckcOuvpz4uEtz26qIabbkxfFjuf8i8syvs


Diana Beatty
on behalf of CFO board
El Paso County

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[cobirds] Cooper's Hawk caching food? El Paso

Hey, CoBirders,

The past 2 days I've at least 1, likely 2 adult (paired?) Cooper's Hawks in the backyard partially consuming & possibly caching the remains of pigeon(s). I looked up "Cooper's Hawk" in Cornell Lab's Birds of the World website and found this under Diet:

"During breeding season, both sexes cache uneaten prey on horizontal branches and retrieve it for themselves and their young; caching may be as frequent as 1/d for females with nestlings (RNR, JB; J. Papp, personal communication). No information on caching outside the breeding season."

Whether a true form of caching (outside the breeding season) or not, this was a fascinating series of events to me. Has anyone else observed a Cooper's coming back for seconds from a partially hidden previous day's kill--or even needing to eat a half-pigeon less than 24 hours after doing the same?

For the detailed story and some of the gory pictures, you can see my 2 eBird submissions for 2/27 & 2/28 here:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S103948453

https://ebird.org/checklist/S103966642

Good birding!

Marty Wolf,

NW Colorado Springs


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Re: [cobirds] golden-crowned kinglet

The winter of 2020-21, the Colorado Christmas Bird Counts found Golden-crowned Kinglets on seven counts, and 28 total birds.

Brandon Percival
Pueblo West, CO


On Tue, Mar 1, 2022 at 8:51 AM DAVID A LEATHERMAN <daleatherman@msn.com> wrote:
I appreciate Brandon's summary of the CBCs and found his noting the scarcity of golden-crowned kinglets worthy of further comment.  I am not sure how many are found on Colorado CBCs in a normal year.   My sense is that most of the counts are low elevation and that a golden-crowned kinglet in winter at low elevation is always special.  But I would expect a lot more than 1 for all our counts combined!  

The reality of fire now being part of the deal in spruce-fir is in stark contrast to the historical record.  Climate change making the upper mountains warmer and drier than normal has them stressed.  Spruce beetles have accepted this invitation in the older stands and are killing huge swaths of spruce in the High Country.  Add in big fires and the combination of these two disturbance agents is becoming significant.  Is the golden-crowned kinglet a "canary" of these shocks to the upper forests?  Maybe, maybe not, but I would suggest birders take particular note of this species, especially in breeding areas.  

The predictions for Engelmann spruce habitat suitability between now and 2060 due to climate change are not good (66% reduction) (Funk and Saunders 2014).  The golden-crowned kinglet account by Paul Slingsby, Richard Roth and Kim Potter in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II publication reports nationwide Breeding Bird Survey data show a decline of 2.3% per year between 1966 and 2012.  Breeding Bird Atlas III would happen in the mid-2030s if we stay on an every-20-years schedule.  That feels like a long ways away.  

In the meantime, maybe golden-crowned kinglets deserve being closely watched by us.  Just a thought.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

Funk, J., and S. Sauders. 2014. Rocky Mountain forests at risk: Confronting climate-driven impacts from insects, wildfires, heat, and drought.  Report from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, Cambridge, MA. Available at http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/09/Rocky-Mountain-Forests-At-Risk-Full-Report.pdf.

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[cobirds] golden-crowned kinglet

I appreciate Brandon's summary of the CBCs and found his noting the scarcity of golden-crowned kinglets worthy of further comment.  I am not sure how many are found on Colorado CBCs in a normal year.   My sense is that most of the counts are low elevation and that a golden-crowned kinglet in winter at low elevation is always special.  But I would expect a lot more than 1 for all our counts combined!  

The reality of fire now being part of the deal in spruce-fir is in stark contrast to the historical record.  Climate change making the upper mountains warmer and drier than normal has them stressed.  Spruce beetles have accepted this invitation in the older stands and are killing huge swaths of spruce in the High Country.  Add in big fires and the combination of these two disturbance agents is becoming significant.  Is the golden-crowned kinglet a "canary" of these shocks to the upper forests?  Maybe, maybe not, but I would suggest birders take particular note of this species, especially in breeding areas.  

The predictions for Engelmann spruce habitat suitability between now and 2060 due to climate change are not good (66% reduction) (Funk and Saunders 2014).  The golden-crowned kinglet account by Paul Slingsby, Richard Roth and Kim Potter in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II publication reports nationwide Breeding Bird Survey data show a decline of 2.3% per year between 1966 and 2012.  Breeding Bird Atlas III would happen in the mid-2030s if we stay on an every-20-years schedule.  That feels like a long ways away.  

In the meantime, maybe golden-crowned kinglets deserve being closely watched by us.  Just a thought.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

Funk, J., and S. Sauders. 2014. Rocky Mountain forests at risk: Confronting climate-driven impacts from insects, wildfires, heat, and drought.  Report from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, Cambridge, MA. Available at http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/09/Rocky-Mountain-Forests-At-Risk-Full-Report.pdf.

[cobirds] Is this a Chukar?

Seen in my neighbor's yard in Frederick. It's been hanging around for at least a week.

Kristen

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